1. Field of Invention:
This invention relates generally to neonatal bunting, and more particularly to a bunting for infants formed from a single-piece blank of multi-layer fabric material which includes a thermal-insulation layer to keep the infant warm.
2. Status of Prior Art:
Bunting refers to a sleeping bag for an infant, the bag being traditionally made of thickly napped fabric. A newborn child is vulnerable to heat losses, for his ability to regulate body temperature is not yet fully operative. Bunting, if properly designed, performs an important function, for it serves to maintain a fullterm newborn or a premature infant in thermal balance; that is, in neither a cold-stressed nor an overheated state.
Unless a newborn infant is kept warm, the child may lose heat faster than he can replace it. In the heat-draining environment of a typical nursery, the resultant loss of heat may deplete the infant of essential stores of fat and glycogen, the latter being the principal form in which carbohydrates are stored in human tissue. These energy sources could better be used toward normal infant growth and development. Hence the purpose of bunting is not merely to keep an infant warm and comfortable, for this warmth is essential to proper development. Because a premature newborn is more vulnerable to heat loss, it is vital that this infant be maintained in a thermally balanced environment.
Neonatal bunting are known which are adapted to substantially reduce heat loss in premature and full-term neonates; that is, in infants less than one month old. In neonatal bunting marketed by the 3M Company of St. Paul, Minnesota (Models 8803 and 8805), use is made of a multi-layer fabric having a thin core layer of "Thinsulate" thermal insulation sandwiched between inner and outer facings. Thinsulate is formed of a mixture of polyolefin and polyester fibers and has greater warmth than down, and nearly twice the warmth of high-loft fiberfill insulation when equal thicknesses are compared. It is breathable, moisture resistant and can be washed or dry cleaned.
In a neonatal bunting of the type marketed by 3M, more than one piece of the fabric material is required to form the bunting, for the hood of the bunting is defined by a separate piece that is sewn onto a base fabric. The hem of this bunting material is also sewn, as a consequence of which the cost of manufacturing this bunting is relatively high.
Sewing procedures are also required in the bunting disclosed in the Milkes U.S. Pat. No. 2,008,919 in which several pieces of fabric are sewn together to form a hood and a bottom flap to lock in the feet of the infant. In this bunting, use is also made of a slide fastener and straps.
Also of prior art interest are the buntings disclosed in the patents to Dern, 1,584,853; Bouma, 4,597,141; Douez, 4,726,076; Junghans, 2,538,420; Lyons, 4,616,365, Als et al., 4,611,353 and Berman, 2,441,745. But in all of these prior art buntings, the nature of their structure is relatively complex and is such as to require sewing operations, and in some cases buttons to hold the bunting together.